Calamity Jane

[DorisIsTerrific]

Sorry Lauren wished I could watch it but I can't I have dialup and you can't watch videos when you have dialup cause it skips and buffers I hate that.

[Toby_Martin]

After watching the Doris Day marathon, I came across this article about Calamity Jane. Very touching indeed, another quality of Doris Day that you have to admire.


"The film also was Oscar®-nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical (Ray Heindorf) and Sound Recording. Day herself adored the score and said that, when she first heard it, "I just about fell apart...I was just dancing around the house." By the time the awards rolled around in 1954, however, she was not up to singing "Secret Love" at the ceremonies and costar Keel appeared in her place to perform the number. A rather touching aspect of their onscreen relationship comes from the fact that Keel had a very weak left arm from a childhood injury and, if you watch closely, you can see Day unobtrusively protecting it and helping him cover the disability."

By Roger Fristoe

Here is the link to the article I read:

http://summer.tcm.com/dorisday/movie/ca

[Toby_Martin]

Here's something interesting I also found:

"Day's own favorite among her films, according to her memoirs, is Calamity Jane (1953). Her cheerfulness, optimism, and wholesomeness unjustly caused her to be written about with a certain condescension in the dark, tumultuous late '60s and early '70s. But the woman who gamely reinvented herself as a singer after her dancing career was put on hold has outlasted her critics and been rediscovered by a new generation taken with her professionalism and work ethic. There have been lots of pretty blondes, but few Doris Days. Her young female fans didn't just want to watch her and listen to her. They wanted to be her."

by Jay Carr
Sources:
AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Doris Day: Her Own Story, by A. E. Hotchner, Morrow & Co., 1976
IMDB

[Ania]

Thank you Toby


Ania

[jmichael]

I watched this on TCM the other day and was reminded again of how brilliant she was in this signature role. The part required a wide range of emotions and the risk of veering into exaggerated mugging was present in every scene. But Doris allowed her natural warmth and impeccable sense of the truth to shine through in a winning star performance. Had she been given a shot at the film version of Annie Get Your Gun, the Best Actress Oscar might have been hers to take home that year. And this comment is no criticism of Betty Hutton either, who was terrific as Annie.

Calamity may be Doris' most underrated film performance.

Michael

[Johnny]

Calmity Jane was Doris' 15th picture that came out in November 1953. It was the sixth and final time that Doris was directed by David Buter. She worked with him as her Director on It's A Great Feeling, Tea For Two, Lullaby of Broadway, April In Paris and By The Light of The Silvery Moon. It outshines all the other films withit's quality and performances. The other films are really good. This film is a great film.

Calmity Jane is a rambunctious and joyful experience to watch. Doris was able to be funny, sassy, brave, romantic and tender in this film. She shone like many facets in a diamond in this film. It really showed her range as an actress, as well as her singing and dancing.

The cast is uniformly great. Howard Keel as Wild Bill Hickock is relaxed, restrained, and amused by the loud, fearless and brash Calnmity Jane. His beautiful baritone voice compliments Doris' sensitive snd soulful voice. It is a fearless performance by Doris. Allyn Mc Lerie as Katie, and Philip Carey as the handsome lieutenant contrast perfectly with showstopper Calmity.

The songs, the incredibly beautiful The Black hills of Dakota, A Woman's Touch, and the lively opening number The Deadwood Stage (Whip Crack Away) all work perfectly in this film. The signature song Secret Love which won the Academy Award for best song in 1954 is timeless and unforgetable. People still relate to this song today.

Calmity Jane is a wonderful film experience. It was reported that Doris wanted the Annie Get Your Gun part being filmed at MGM but Warners Bros. would not let her go. I'm really happy with Doris' performance in this film.

[Doris Martin]

Calamity Jane is still my number one !

MINE TOO

[webmaster]

Great to see you reviewing her films, Johnny.

Calamity will always be a treasured film by Doris fans. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it, as I'm sure we all have. It was on TCM (UK) today and I couldn't help but set it to record. Just waiting for that Whip Crack Away moment.

[Johnny]

It was reported that Jack Warner would not loan out Doris Day to MGM to do Annie Get Your Gun. Doris really wanted to do this film. Doris said that the Calamity Jane character was most like her in real life.

The real Calamity Jane was named Martha Jane Canary. Calamity Jane rescued a U.S. Army Captain at Goose Creek, South Dakota. Jane is buried in South Dakota.

Doris started filming Calamity Jane on December 20th, 1952. It was her 10th musical for Warner Brothers and fifth film with Director, David Butler. The filming finished on March 23rd. 1953.

The premiere for Calamity Jane was held on Nov3ember 1st, 1953 in Rapid City. The Mayor of Rapid City declared November 1st to 7th, Calamity Jane Week.

I am wondering if there are any photographs from this event with Doris. Calamity Jane is such a pleasure to watch again and again.

[Peter Flapper]

Hi there,

Don't know if this link was shared before... but I think it's a great read about Calamity Jane.
http://theblondeatthefilm.com/2014/08/1 ... jane-1953/
Enjoy,

P

[webmaster]

Thanks, all - and thanks for the link, Peter. I've added it at the bottom of the Calamity Jane page:



http://www.dorisday.net/calamity-jane/

[Musiclover]

Wonderful link, Peter. Thanks for sharing it.

[Johnny]

Thanks Peter for the great link to Calamity Jane. It definitely is a good read with interesting background information on the film.

I enjoyed reading the fun facts especially on the beautiful horse Dollar, Doris rode. Calamity Jane was made in 1953 and the horse was loaned out in 1975 to John Wayne for Rooster Cogburn and again in 1976 for The Shootist. Joel Mc Crea must have made a lot of money with Dollar, who seems appropriately named.

Calamity Jane will always remain one of my favourite films of all time. I would love to see it shown on the big silver screen once again.

[Johnny]

Calamity Jane is one of my top favourites Doris Day films. After viewing the film again with friends, the following question came up: What actress is there today that could act, sing and dance the part of Calamity Jane in a remake of this grand musical? We had a really difficulty trying to think of someone of Doris' calibre who could match her performance. I said I would bring the question to this forum. Please help. Thank you.

Front DVD Jacket Cover:

Yipeeeee!

It's the big romanza in musical extravaganza.

Warner Bros.' sky-highest smile-widest wild n' woolliest musical of em' all.

Brand new smash hits by the stage load.

Back Jacket Cover:

How The West Was Sung!


Doris Day and Howard Keel feud and fall in love as Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in this entertainment mother lode. At first curvaceous Calamity is too durned busy fighting Indians and cracking a bullwhip to pay mind to such girlie what-alls as dances and perfume. And Wild Bill is too danged busy wooing a dainty chanteuse (Allyn Mc Lerie) to give a hoot about a hot-headed tomboy. But things change in a rootin', tootin', big way wheb each becomes love's target. There are wide-open technicolour western spaces , lots of high-stepping dances and a hummable humdinger of a score by songwriters Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster who took their first Oscar for the classic ballad (and 50's megahit) Secret Lovv3e.

Special features:

Premiere and Award Newsreels

Theatrical Trailer

[Musiclover]

Johnny, I don't think there is a current actress who could fill those shoes (boots). There are so few triple-threat performers today, especially in film.

[Jas1]

Sing a long - to Calamity Jane being shown as part of the Belfast Film Festival - on April 5 - tickets booked as DD sells out quickly whenever shown at any film festival here- I remember how quickly Calam sold out about 10 years ago along with Pajama Game -

Really look forward to this event with 3 friends- one in particular is a BIG CALAM fan - told her in a text earlier "we'll be as happy as a pole cat a climbing a tree..."

[Johnny]

Looking at some note's on the Turner Classic Films site, it states some of the interesting history on Doris' film Calamity Jane.

The real-life Calamity Jane was born around 1850 and died in 1903. She was a whisky drinker, wore men's clothes, and was a scout for General George Custor. Her real name was Martha Jane Canary Burke.

Wild Bill Hickok was born in 1837 and was shot at a poker game in the Deadwood saloon in 1876.
Doris was originally interested in playing Annie in the film Annie Get Your Gun but the role was given to Judy Garland. When Judy dropped out, Warners refused to loan Doris out and the role went to Betty Hutton.

The notes on Calamity Jane state that Warner Bros borrowed"unblushingly", from the stage musical Oklahoma and the 1950 film Annie Get Your Gun.

As early as June 1948, columnist Dorothy Manners reported that Doris' first director Michael Curtiz was interested on making a musical about Calamity Jane. It was supposed to star Doris and targeted to start filming in 1949.

Interestly, Howard Keel worked on Annie Get Your Gun and Calamity Jane as the romantic lead.

Another piece of film trivia is actor Joel McCrea who starred in many westerns, and was a Doris Day fan, broke his own rule of never allowing anyone to ride his horse Dollar. He allowed Doris to ride the horse in Calamity Jane.

Howard Keel had a very weak left arm from a childhood injury. If you look closely, you can see Doris helping him mask the disability.

When Doris was not able to sing the nominated song Secret Love at he 1954 Academy awards, Howard Keel stepped in for her.

The music soundtrack from Calamity Jane remains as enjoyable today as it did in 1953. The song Secret Love will never go out of style.

It is often overlooked that in 1962, Doris with actor Robert Goulet recorded a complete album called Annie Get Your Gun.l

[Musiclover]

Interesting notes from TCM's website, Johnny. I believe one of them is erroneous, however. If memory serves me correctly, it was Ann Blyth (not Howard Keel) who sang "Secret Love" at the Oscar ceremonies in 1954.

[Johnny]

Thanks Musiclover! You go to the top of the class. Ann Blyth did sing Secret Love.

The other nominated songs are:

The Moon Is Blue
My Flaming Heart
Sadie Thompson's Song (Blue Pacific Blues)
That's Amore

[Johnny]

In Alan Gelb's book, The Doris Day Scrapbook, he writes about that "Calamity Jane was a conception very obviously in debt to Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun. The figure Calamity Jane has appeared on and off for years in any number of movies- she has been portrayed by Jean Arthur in The Plainsman, by Frances Farmer in Badlands of Dakota, by Jane Russell in The Paleface, and by Yvonne DeCarlo in Calamity Jane and Sam Bass. Now it was time to regard her musically, in view of the overwhelming success that had occurred when Annie Oakley got a similar treatment. The director was, once again, David Butler, who would rise triumphantly to the occasion. The score was by Sammy Fain (of I'll Be Seeing You") and Paul Francis Webster of "The Shadow of Your Smile" among others). The imaginative choreography was furnished by Jack Donahue, who had been a Ziegfeld dancer and who had directed a couple of Red Skelton movies, and the script was by James O'Hanlon.

As Doris' leading man, there was Howard Keel, a tremendously appealing baritone who had shone in Annie Get Your Gun and Showboat and who was well- equipped to hold his own against Doris. For once, there was a group of people who could do justice by Doris' talents.

The plot of Calamity Jane is just light and diverting enough to carry along the viewer. The locale is Deadwood City, just as rip-roarin' as might be expected and its' chief doyenne is Calamity Jane, who is endeavouring to bring live entertainment to town (in the process she is trying to catch herself a husband as well). She travels to Chicago to persuade singer Adelaide Adams (Gale Robbins) to appear in Deadwood City, but as in most musical comedies there is a case of mistaken identities, and she engages Adelaide's maid instead (played by Allyn Mc Lerie, who had been the leading lady in Butler's film of Where's Charly?) Mc Lerie takes Deadwood City by storm, as well as taking one of Doris' potential suitor's by storm. The two girls who have become fast friends and roommates by then, have a falling out, but once Doris comes to realize that Wild Bill Hickok (Keel) is the man for her, everything works its way to a happy ending.

Doris had played tomboy roles before, and Calamity Jane was the definitive tomboy role for her. She is absolutely first- rate in the part, alternately rambunctious and womanly, thorny and tender, The part calls for a certain amount of physical comedy, and she proves herself to be good at it, meeting the demands with abandon. Compared to Ethel Merman and Betty Hutton, the chief purveyors of musical "Annies", Doris does not have their natural brassiness and gusto, but she has a romantic side that does not come naturally to these other women. When having realized her love for Keel, she sings "Secret Love", it is the kind of transformation that is the stuff of great musical comedy, whether it be My Fair Lady, or Gypsy, or any of those wonderful musicals that have to do with transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. The whole sequence of "Secret Love", with its limpidly photographed, glowingly coloured natural settings, ensured the success of the song, which Doris recorded as a single and which is one of her hallmark hits, having sold over a million records. The rest of the score, with such numbers as "Whip Crack-away", "Just Blew In from The Windy City" and " Deadwood Stage", is equally delightful. Calamity Jane is among the best of the Wild West movie musicals--better than The Harvey Girls, or Red Garters, or Annie Get Your Gun, perhaps as good as Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Its' exuberance and high spirits are infectious and it is difficult to understand the cool critical reception it faced on its' debut. In the years since, however, such a prominent film critic as Pauline Kael has rightfully put it in the pantheon of film musicals, and its' place there is secure."

I am pleased to see that Calamity Jane has now been recognized as a superior musical comedy. it is a surprise to discover the film received a cool reception by critics when it was first released. Like this film, Doris did not get the credit she deserves. As much as Doris' films are loved by her fans , the film critics have not given her the recognition for her talent she truly deserves. Doris deserves this recognition while she is with us.

It appears the audience has a better appreciation for Doris' films than the critics. Doris is the heart of Calamity Jane and this film remains loved to this day for its' infinite joy.

[jmichael]

This is yet another example of how criminally overlooked Doris is. Her film resume ranks along side the very best from Hollywood with a dazzling array of first rate comedic, dramatic and musical performances. No one was as versatile as Doris Day and yet the AFI, the Academy, etc. still overlook her. I can only chalk this up to ignorance or the fact that she made it all look so easy.

Michael

[Jas1]

I agree Michael.

[Johnny]

In Tom Santopietro's book Considering Doris Day, there is an interesting passage on the song Secret Love from Calamity Jane.


"In fact, it is this last song (Secret Love) that provides Calamity Jane with its one indisputable great musical moment , a moment so rich that during this sequence the film is lifted into the pantheon of great musicals. Outfitted with a lovely understated orchestration that suggests rippling water, perfectly in keeping with the outdoor staging of the song "Secret Love", features a near perfect marriage of music (Sammy Fain) and lyrics (Paul Francis Webster), With it's gentle rhythm matched to the relaxed gait of the horse Calamity is riding sidesaddle, the song expresses Calmity's true nature in both music and lyric. Singing to the "friendly stars" above, she realizes

At last my heart's an open door
And my secret love's no secret anymore

Calamity Jane is experiencing the freedom of true love , and it therefore makes perfect sense that the ballad is sung in the expansive outdoor beauty of the West. "

[jmichael]

My husband and I had dinner with Tom when we were in NYC earlier this year. He mentioned how cooperative and pleasant Doris was when he was working on his book. I think they spoke over the phone several times. Tom has nothing but good things to say about her and he admires her acting and singing.

Michael

[Johnny]

Thank you Michael! I would have loved to be at that dinner. I love Tom’s book that I revisit time and time again.
It really speaks eloquently to Doris’ talents and emotional intelligence in her artistry in films, music and dance.

I would have liked to know what current music artists , television programs and favourite movies Doris liked.

I also wondered if Doris ever thought about playing a veterinarian in a movie. Imagine what she could have done with a role like this that would support her lifelong animal advocacy.

Just musings.

Thanks for sharing.